Kennedys, Bushes and... Dingells? American political dynasties

By Z. Byron Wolf, CNN

Updated 11:14 AM ET, Mon March 3, 2014

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Photos:A look at political families

Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump introduces his son Donald Trump Jr. as he addressed a crowd this April in Indianapolis. Trump Jr. has said that if his father becomes president, he's interested in being his secretary of the Interior.

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Photos:A look at political families

Photos: Political families – Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton attend a State Department dinner in 2012. Hillary Clinton is the presumptive Democratic nominee for president.

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Photos:A look at political families

U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas, left, and his twin brother then-San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Now secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Julian Castro is a contender to be the Democratic vice-president nominee.

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Photos:A look at political families

Political families – Beau Biden embraces his father, Vice President Joe Biden, at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.. Before his death in 2015, Beau served as Delware's attorney general.

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Photos:A look at political families

Photos: Political families – U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell succeeded her husband, former U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Michigan, in the seat he held for 58 years until his retirement in 2015.

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Photos:A look at political families

Political families – Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, announced that she was running for Senate in Wyoming in 2014. Her bid set up an intra-GOP battle with U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi, a three-time incumbent. She dropped her Senate bid in January 2014.

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Photos:A look at political families

U.S. Rep. Sander Levin, D-Michigan, comes from a prominent family in that state's politics. His brother Carl Levin was the state's senior senator until his retirement in January 2015. And his uncle, Theodore Levin, was a federal judge.

Photos: Political families – The late U.S. Sen. Prescott Bush, R-Connecticut, center, was the father of former President George H.W. Bush, left, and grandfather of former President George W. Bush, far left.

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Photos:A look at political families

Political families – The Bush family is a bona fide modern American political dynasty. Former President George W. Bush and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush are the sons of former President George H.W. Bush. George P. Bush, Jeb's son, is a Texas land commissioner. George H.W. Bush is the son of Prescott Bush, a senator from Connecticut. Here, the former presidents and Jeb, right, pose for a photo at the christening of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush.

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Photos:A look at political families

Photos: Political families – George P. Bush speaks during the 2011 Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans. The grandson of former President George H.W. Bush is a Texas land commissioner.

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Photos:A look at political families

Photos: Political families – Former President Jimmy Carter spends time with his grandson Jason, wife Rosalynn, and daughter Amy in 1976. Jason Carter was a Democratic member of the Georgia State Senate.

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Photos:A look at political families

Photos: Political families – John Adams was the second president of the United States. His son John Quincy Adams was the sixth President.

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Photos:A look at political families

Photos: Political families – John Quincy Adams is pictured.

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Photos:A look at political families

Photos: Political families – New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and his sister, then-U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, are interviewed during a special edition of "Meet The Press" in New Orleans in 2010.

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Photos:A look at political families

Photos: Political families – Former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn, his wife Colleen, daughter Michelle, and his grandchildren walk the beach at Sea Island, Georgia, in 2007. Michelle Nunn was a Democratic candidate for Georgia's U.S. Senate seat in 2014.

Photos: Political families – Former Arkansas attorney general, Sen. Mark Pryor, holds a news conference in Washington in 2006. Pryor is the son of former U.S. Sen. David Pryor, D-Arkansas.

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Photos:A look at political families

Photos: Political families – Former U.S. Sen. David Pryor.

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Photos:A look at political families

Political families – Father-and-son New York governors, Andrew, left, and Mario Cuomo appear at a rally in 2006. CNN anchor Chris Cuomo is another of Mario Cuomo's sons.

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Photos:A look at political families

Political families – U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, is the daughter of late Thomas D'Alesandro Jr., a Baltimore mayor and congressman. D'Alesandro, center, attends Pelosi's swearing-in in 1978.

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Photos:A look at political families

Political families – George W. Romney, with his son Mitt and his wife Lenore in 1962, announces his intention to run for governor of Michigan. The elder Romney went on to run for president in 1968, and his son Mitt served as governor of Massachusetts before winning the GOP nomination for president in 2012.

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Photos:A look at political families

Political families – The Kennedy clan experienced a two-year absence on Capitol Hill beginning in 2011 with the departure of U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-Rhode Island, shown here with his father, U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, at President Barack Obama's inauguration in 2009. The hiatus ended when U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III, D-Massachusetts, was sworn in 2013. He is the son of former U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy and the grandson of the late U.S. Sen. Robert Kennedy.

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Photos:A look at political families

Political families – Then-Rep. Harold Ford, D-Tennessee, left, and his son, Harold Jr. shake hands with supporters in this 1996 photo. Harold Ford Sr. announced earlier that year that he was retiring from the seat he had held for 22 years and Harold Ford Jr. won the seat that fall.

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Photos:A look at political families

Political families – Democratic New York state Sen. Jose M. Serrano is the son of U.S. Rep. Jose E. Serrano.

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Photos:A look at political families

Political families – U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is the daughter of Frank Murkowski, who also represented Alaska in the Senate and was later the state's governor.

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Photos:A look at political families

Photos: Political families – William Taft was the 27th president of the United States and served from 1909-1913. Since Taft's presidency, three of his relatives have represented Ohio in the U.S. Senate.

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Photos:A look at political families

Photos: Political families – Sen. Robert A. Taft is one of three Tafts to represent Ohio in the U.S. Senate.

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Photos:A look at political families

Photos: Political families – Sen. Robert Taft Jr. attends a hearing in Washington in 1973. He is one of three Tafts to represent Ohio in the U.S. Senate.

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Photos:A look at political families

Photos: Political families – Sen. Kingsley Taft is one of three Tafts to represent Ohio in the U.S. Senate.

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Story highlights

Politics is often a family business -- not exactly what the founding fathers intended

Nonetheless, our country has a long history of political dynasties

The Kennedy, Bush, and Clinton families are just a few of the political dynasties

The Dingells have been in Congress since the Great Depression

The whole point of the founding of this country was that government wasn't supposed be a family business, but we've got dynasties nonetheless. The sixth American president, John Quincy Adams, was the son of the second president (John Adams), after all.

Now there's Debbie Dingell, the much younger wife of octogenarian John Dingell, running for the seat he announced last week that he'll leave after 58 years.

That's a record, by the way.

There's been a Dingell on Capitol Hill every year since 1933... since Franklin Roosevelt was president and there was a Depression going on.

That hasn't stopped her son Jeb, the former Florida governor, from teasing a bid for president and arguing his name would actually hurt him.

"I get the point. It's something that, if I run, I would have to overcome that. And so will Hillary, by the way. Let's keep the same standards for everybody," he said last week in New York.

Jeb Bush might or might not run for president. But the Bush dynasty will live on. Jeb's son, George P. Bush, is the odds-on favorite to win in his campaign for Texas land commissioner this year.

There are a lot of smaller political families in the 50 states. Up on Capitol Hill, take the U.S. Senate, which has 100 members. A full third -- 33 of them -- are the father, son, mother, daughter, husband or wife of at least one other public official, according to a CNN analysis.

There are Udalls and Landrieus, Murkowskis and Pryors, Pauls and Roberts. And many more.

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In recent years on Capitol Hill we've seen Pauls, Ron and Rand; Levins, Sander and Carl; and Udalls, Tom and Mark.

The brand alone won't win an election, but it brings instant name recognition. And in this era of big, expensive campaigns, name recognition can be priceless.

Some dynasties are harder to maintain than others. The Liz Cheney for Senate campaign didn't last long. And the attempt to reboot the Quayle name foundered when former Vice President Dan Quayle's son, Ben, lost his House seat after one term.

And the Nunns -- former Sen. Sam Nunn's daughter, Michelle, is a Democrat running in a red state for the U.S. Senate seat in Georgia. So are the Carters -- former President Jimmy Carter's grandson, Jason, is running for governor there.